#a japanese song in my taiwanese game?! it's more likely than you think

[assorted-biscuits]

teaser

will include audio

[jdevyn]

AU! IkeRev Suitors in a KPOP Group! HCS

Because while I was making the Just Do It Lyric video if Blanc, Oliver and Kyle were to sing it had me thinking if they were part of a subunit, what the actual group would be like... 

(I wanted to do a super group and have all of the suitors in one big group but it was too much to try and make facts for all of them so I handpicked my own suitors I would put in a group together. They are listed in order of oldest to youngest for this AU)

Stage name: Lance Real name: Lancelot Kingsley Position: Leader, Lead Rapper, Sub Vocalist, Producer Nationality: Korean-Taiwanese

Has trained the longest out of the everyone in the group with 6 years

Has also known Harr the longest amongst the members

Although he is half Taiwanese he only speaks Korean

Is known for his amazing charisma on stage, however off stage he is very quiet and actually very clumsy. One time after their comeback stage as they were exiting he walked into one of the floating cameras

In a Dingo interview when asked who was the most troublesome member he said Oliver. "Mmm... He might be the most troublesome but... He takes care of the other members well."

He produces the group's songs, and often co-writes music with Harr

He is very shy with people he doesn't know very well

He gets very competitive when they play games, and if they can choose partners he will normally choose Jonah who is just as competitive, so that he can win

All the members agree that he is the best listener and they can go to him if they have any problems

He is good friends with Bang Chan from Stray Kids

Currently shares a dorm with Fenrir and Jonah

Stage name: Blanc Real name: Blanc Lapin Position: Lead Rapper, Lead Vocalist Nationality: Chinese

He is known as the mother of the group 

He is also known as the gentleman of the group by the fans 

He is fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese, his Korean is actually a lot better than he gives himself credit for

He is known for his signature deep voiced raps

Actually has a really good singing voice which surprised a lot of fans when he first sung an a song

He trained for 4 years before debut

He is closest with Kyle and Oliver. Kyle approached him first as he was able to speak Mandarin to him. "I was really happy when Kyle spoke to me in mandarin when I first joined. I was really nervous my Korean wouldn't be understandable."

Oliver makes fun of his Korean when he can though, and sometimes teaches him the wrong meanings to some words

He is the leader of the subunit with Kyle and Oliver

He is good friends with Jackson from GOT7 and Lucas from NCT

Currently shares a dorm with Oliver

Stage name: Joker Real name: Harr Silver Position: Main vocalist Nationality: Korean

He was forced by his friend to audition because he has such an amazing voice

He actually failed several auditions before he was accepted

He actually didn’t want to pursue any more auditions. “My friend, he kept pushing me to keep auditioning. He would help me with the critiques I got so I could better polish them for the next audition. If it wasn’t for him, I really wouldn’t be here.” 

When asked if he was still in contact with this friend he said he was “He’s self declared himself as my number one fan. (Laughs) He’s really crazy, I honestly feel like he would be better suited in an idol group. He has red hair and amazing visuals.”

He still gets very nervous performing in front of a crowd. He was once criticised that he was lacking in his dance and stage presence in the  comeback they were doing in an interview once. This made Jonah mad who is also the group’s other main vocals, "I would like to hear you sing as well as him then." Jonah got reprimanded by Lance soon after the interview

Learning choreography is hard for him, he is always the last to leave the dance studio, luckily for him Oliver always stays to help him out

He writes, and composes some of the groups songs along with Lance

He is good friends with Hwasa of MAMAMOO whom he looks up to for her stage presence and singing

Currently shares a dorm with Seth and Kyle

Stage name: Oliver Real name: Oliver Knight Position: Main dancer, Lead Vocalist, Visual Nationality: British

Born in London

1/2 of English line

Speaks English, Korean, Cantonese and Mandarin fluently. He is currently learning Japanese with Kyle

He was scouted when he was 12 when a video of him dancing went viral

Was a YG trainee

Is an overall well rounded idol, he can sing, dance, and rap

He is actually a very good singer and originally joined to be a main vocalist, however they needed a main dancer and his position was switched

Is pretty active on his Instagram often posting pranks he pulls on the other members

He is often thought to be a fairly quiet person, however he is the most playful, and when people get to know him they say his visuals and personality don't match at all

He likes to collect teas from the places they tour

He is good friends with Kai from EXO and Woozi from SEVENTEEN (Woozi: "... This greedy guy, share your height with me.")

Currently shares a dorm with Blanc

Stage name: G.SPEED Real name: Fenrir Godspeed Position: Main Rapper, Sub Vocalist, Face of the Group Nationality: Korean American

He is the group's mood maker

2/2 of English line

He was born in Los Angeles

He was scouted at the mall

Passed his audition with his vocals, but he ended up really loving rapping

He along with Seth appear the most on talk shows to promote the group

Amongst the group he does the most V-LIVES. Sometimes when he appears with Oliver they both speak English for the international fans. Kyle also sometimes joins them as he is trying to polish his English

His idol is G-Dragon

Has the most energy on stage and is often the one yelling SORI JILLUH!!!! (Make some noise!!!!!)

He was voted as the most ambitious of the group always wanting to do a different stage for the fans

Friends with Bobby from iKon

Currently shares a dorm with Lance, and Jonah

Stage name: Seth (Stylized as SETH✩) Real name: Seth Hyde Position: Lead vocalist, Lead dancer, Visual, Sub Rapper Nationality: Korean

He is the official visual of the group

He skipped school to audition

He did not get along with Oliver when they first met. They get along much better now and fans consider them adoring frenemies. They often get competitive against each other, however if they are on the same team for games they actually get along scarily well for the sake of winning

They once almost had a full blown fist fight when during dance practice Seth had really accidentally extended his leg too far and tripped Oliver

Lance had to intervene to calm the two

Now they often reenact the moment during fansigns for laughs

When asked if he would ever cut his hair, he said “It’s my charm point don’t you think?”

He said he would consider cutting his hair for a comeback, MAYBE

He is friends with a lot girl idols including YooA from Oh My Girl, Miyeon from (G)I-DLE and CHUNG HA

Currently sharing a dorm with Harr and Kyle

Stage name: Kyle Real name: Kyle Ash Position: Main Rapper, Lead Dancer, Sub Vocalist Nationality: Korean

Fluent in Korean, Mandarin, and getting very good at English. He is also learning Japanese with Oliver. His reason for learning is actually because he loves anime

He is extremely intelligent, with an IQ of 155

He originally was planning to study to become a doctor after high school 

He auditioned on a dare but he passed

He became friends with Jeonghan of SEVENTEEN during Idol Olympics when he went searching for a quiet place to nap between events, and he found Jeonghan napping in the space he was going to

He is also close friends with Vernon of SEVENTEEN

He is often praised for his rap flow and writing

He is currently learning the guitar in his spare time

He says he is envious of Oliver’s dress sense, “Oliver hyung always dresses so well. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him in just a t-shirt.”

He really admires Seth’s fashion sense even if he annoys him, “Ahh it’s annoying... Seth hyung always is on trend.”

Currently shares a dorm with Harr and Seth

Stage Name: Jonah Real name: Jonah Clemence Psoition: Main vocalist, Visual, Maknae Nationality: Taiwanese

His parents originally wouldn't let him audition, but he kept singing late into the night and would annoying them all day until they caved and said he could audition. He ended up being the only one who passed the auditions

He is currently starring in a Korean drama

He is a huge fan of Girls’ Generation Taeyon

He is actually really good at aegyo, but is really shy to do it

Has a younger brother named Luka

Seth told a story of how whenever Jonah would talk about Luka on a talk show Luka would always text him right away saying, “STUPID HYUNG DON'T TALK ABOUT ME!!”

The interviewers laughed, and asked if Luka actually calls his brother stupid and the whole group was like, YES!!

Jonah completely missed the point though and he was just overjoyed that his younger brother watched him on TV

He is the maknae of the group however he hates it and all the other members make fun of him for this especially Seth

He is friends with Jungkook from BTS and Eunwoo from Astro

Currently shares a room with Lance and Fenrir

[bluephoenixdruidicprincess]

My 2019 Blog Review

Today's the last day of 2019, so I thought it would be fun to dig through my archive and reflect on my blog activity over the past year. I am doing this on my phone but once I have access to a computer again, I'll put this all under a cut. I just can't do it on my phone.

Jan 2019

- Tumblr's background color changed and apparently I'm the only one who liked the change.

- Kingdom Hearts 3 release -- of course, this was a huge thing in my blog at the time. Afterall, I'd only been waiting 15 years for this game. And while I definitely had problems with the game, it also had some very memorable moments that I loved...like Sora punching Davey Jones (I never ever want to forget that moment).

- I began my adventure of learning Japanese. I'm doing pretty good so far.

- The Mummy (Brendon Fraser) appreciation. Occamshipper apparently doesn't like these movies but I love them. I met some great people because I told occamshipper that whereas they didn't like The Mummy Returns, it is in fact one of my favorite all time movies.

- Lots of rambling about my love for Lucy Heartfilia and the Nalu ship from Fairy Tail.

Feb 2019

- BoA Appreciation. I love K-Pop and BoA is one of my all time favs.

- The Vic Micnogna scandal. Honestly, I don't really care about what's going on with the trial, what bothers me is the stain that was left on Funimation because of it. The voice actors really alienated the fanbase in this scandal and I didn't like that.

- Power Rangers appreciation. I love Power Rangers and unironically, too. My favorite power ranger is Adam from Mighty Morphin.

- Within Temptation's new Resist Album dropped and I loved it. I love these epic stories they tell with their albums and the vibes they give.

- I watched the Mythica franchise and my appreciation affair for Zombie Girl began.

- Ronon/Keller appreciation. I loved this pairing so much and I'm super sad the show never did more with them.

- Legacies Reviews. Apparently people find me funny? I have a sense of humor that people enjoy?

Mar 2019

- Emily Bett Rickards revealed she would not be on Arrow for its final season. I was really depressed a out that and I got a lot of hate from comic book fans for daring to say that I like the character of Felicity Smoak.

- Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles appreciation. One of my favorite anime/manga of all time.

- I was a victim of credit card fraud because of Creation Entertainment and then they tried to deny they were at fault despite hundreds of their customers reporting credit card fraud all at the same time. They eventually retracted their statement but because of this, I will probably never go to a Creation convention again. They're way overpriced and I certainly will not entrust my important info to them again.

Apr 2019

- Shadowhunters final season started airing and they went from irritating to just plain boring. Seriously, the season's biggest crime isn't how misogynist and racist it was, it was that it was completely nonsensical and boring for me.

- The release of Taylor Swift's and Brendon Urie's collab of ME! and I seem to be the only one that seems to legitimately love that song (even the "spelling is fun" part, RIP you beautiful lyric, alas, you were too good and pure to last in this hateful unfunny world of judgemental culture).

- The X Family appreciation. This is one of my favorite Taiwanese dramas and definitely my favorite series in the KO franchise.

- I broke up with the main SPN meta community (otherwise known as the Positive Police). We just didn't see eye-to-eye. I didn't appreciate them lording over the fandom telling people what they should and should not ship, telling people what they should and should not like...and they didn't appreciate me saying so. Lots of blocking went on and I'm still eternally sorry for the people that got blocked by these big fish because they simply liked my posts.

May 2019

- Game of Thrones crappy ending. What is there to really say about it? It was terrible and misogynist AF.

- Ezra appreciation from the Natural Oneders TFS at the Table D&D campaign. Ezra Lockwood was my favorite character and I'm not okay with how he was written out of the campaign.

- I was quite angry about Dean destroying Chuck's guitar like Dean was a 5-year-old child angry that he didn't get his way (seriously, Dean needs to be sent to time-out).

Jun 2019

- Quicksilver and Dadneto meta commentary from FOX 's X-Men franchise. So much lost potential there, unfortunately (thanks, Dark Phoenix).

- Orca appreciation. They're beautiful, majestic creatures and I love them, they might be my spirit animal.

- Someone unfollowed me because I wasn't giving enough attention to real-world problems. Essentially, I wasn't woke enough I guess. But I'm sorry, if I want to feel all righteous and justicey, I'll watch the news. Social justice and politics are not primary focuses of this blog.

- Godzilla King of Monsters was fantastic.

- Chuck TV Series appreciation. I love this show and I miss it dearly.

Jul 2019

- Veronica Mars Season 4 discourse. Essentially I hate what happened to Logan and what it means for Veronica's character moving forward.

- Played Love Island The Game and had way more fun than I probably rightfully should've had.

Aug 2019

- Re-watched Sailor Moon and then watched Sailor Moon Crystal. Both shows are so much fun. Plus, I love Sailor Jupiter. I love Jupiter's personality and her power aesthetic is badass to match her personality.

- Taylor Swift's Lover album dropped. I might be in the minority but it actually ranks pretty low on my list of Taylor Swift albums.

- Skillet's Victorious album dropped a d ot was a huge disappointment for me.

- I found watermelon to be my new favorite post-workout snack.

Sep 2019

- I watched The Untamed and I absolutely adore this show. I started watching more chinese dramas because of this show. And whereas I haven't found something I enjoyed quite as much from the chinese drama list, I've still greatly enjoyed a lit of the shows...but they still have nothing on The Untamed. The Untamed is just so good.

- Lover Fest was announced. And it was real shady the dealings that were going on with this. It actually kind of made me wary of actually wanting to see Taylor live.

Oct 2019

- I began the Korean drama, Extra-Ordinary You. I haven't finished it yet, but I plan to. I wanted to wait until the entire series was done airing. It does really interesting things with tropes and I greatly enjoy this show and can't wait to to return to it.

- Sherlolly appreciation. Rediscovered my love for the Sherlock/Molly ship from Sherlock.

-Leverage appreciation. Absolutely fantastic show. Highly recommend it.

Nov 2019

-Psych tv series appreciation. Another one of my favorite shows of all time.

- I wrote a Dean Winchester endgame meta. It was fun.

Dec 2019

- Kamen Rider Den-O appreciation. My favorite from the Kamen Rider franchise. I've been re-watching it and it's so much fun. Sato Takeru is amazing in it and the fact that this one of his first acting jobs and he's able to pull off doing so many different characters is seriously amazing.

- SPN finally brought us an angel/vessel dynamic in the form of Adam and Michael and it was amazing.

- The Jumanji re-make appreciation. I love it and The Next Level is just as good as its predecessor and I'm anxiously awaiting the next film in the franchise.

- My thoughts on why I'm single. Mainly because I'm lazy and I just don't feel like doing through all of the work involved in dating.

There you have it. That's 2019 for me. It had its ups and its downs but blog wise, I think I had a pretty good year.

[fayewonglibrary]

Melting of the Ice Queen (2000)

Once the music world’s Ice Queen, Faye Wong warms up to motherhood and new love as Rebecca Li uncovers.

AS Faye Wong walks into the photo studio at Chai Wan, Hong Kong, casually dressed in baby-blue pants and pink No Name sneakers that look like a cross between sports shoes and ballet slippers, she looks relaxed and girlish.

The colours of her outfit suggest that her life is absolutely bright and sunny.  Even without makeup, her eyes obscured by aviator shades, she still looks completely stunning.

Well-known for her nonchalance to the media and her chameleon-like image changes, Asia’s most charismatically enigmatic chanteuse seems to have mellowed.  Does it have anything to do with the birth of her daughter Jingtong in February 1997?

“The greatest change in me came not after the birth of my child, but after I converted to Buddhism in 1992,” says the 31-year-old.  “I used to ask myself questions like ‘Why is it so?’ But not everything in the world can be explained.  If it is so, it is so; there is no why.  If it is fated, then it is so!  You can only learn to accept your fate.  A simple principle, but easier said than done.”

LIFE GOES ON

With her divorce from Taiwanese rocker Dou Wei out of the way, Faye seems to have moved on.  The big news now is that she is dating a younger man, and not just any younger man too, but Hong Kong heartthrob Nicholas Tse, who’s all of 19.

The source of the rumor?  The pair was snapped by paparazzi earlier this year, kissing at a party in Hong Kong club Greenspot…during a drinking game.  And to add fuel to the fire, they have also been spotted having intimate dinners together on several occasions.

Gossip aside, it’s amazing how the public just cannot get enough of this long-limbed, 1.72 metre-tall Beijing-born beauty, who first set foot in Hong Kong in 1987 at the age of 18.

Back then, the artiste formerly known as Shirley Wong Ching Man didn’t even speak a word of Cantonese, and out of boredom, she enrolled herself in singing classes that helped her develop that ethereal voice that she is now so famous for.

After spending a couple of years in New York studying music, she returned to Hong Kong in 1992, changed her name to Faye, and released an album entitled COMING HOME.  The rest, as they say, is history.  In 1993, she was voted “Most Popular Asian Singer” and over the years, her star has just kept rising higher.

Within a short span of time, Faye has attained the kind of pop icon status that took her favorite singer Teresa Teng an entire lifetime to achieve.

Fans from as far as France devote entire websites to her.  Film critics in Sweden gave her the “Best Actress” award for her role in CHUNGKING EXPRESS.  Sony Playstation felt she was appealing enough to the youth market to pay her US$1 million to sing the ending theme song for their popular video game Final Fantasy 8.

If you’d holidayed in China last year and felt a thirst for Pepsi, you would have seen her gorgeous face emblazoned all over the can (that is, before the limited edition ran out).

A Japanese cellphone company used her for their commercial, but that perhaps is not even half as flattering as the fact that a Taiwanese artiste, Kung Mei Mei, released a debut album entitled I LOVE FAYE WONG.

QUEEN OF MODESTY

Faye has proven herself as one of the very few singers who have made a successful crossover into acting, with CHUNGKING EXPRESS, LOVE AFFAIR IN OKINAWA (which hit Singapore screens on 9 August) and the yet-to-be-completed 2046.  But she still remains unimpressed by her own thespian talents.

“Actually I don’t have much acting to do in LOVE AFFAIR IN OKINAWA… and it is nothing as crazy as the character in CHUNGKING EXPRESS.  It is much more normal and easy-going.”

And contrary to what others say, the movie has not been tailormade for her, she clarifies.  “Maybe they just know this is how I am, I simply can’t act.  Maybe it is because it is a different director (Peter Chan).  I have only worked with Wong Kar Wai before.  I’m more familiar with what he wants… I’m afraid of the demands from other directors, that I may not be able to meet their requirements…”

Faye says that she does not like acting because it involves teamwork and requires a lot of patience.

“For me, when you are making a movie, you have to wait.  It takes a lot of time, and it can be boring.  When you sing, you just need to go to the studio.  I would know if I have not sung a line well, so I can ask to do it again.  When it comes to acting, I wouldn’t know which way is better.  When the director says it is okay, then it’s okay for me, I wouldn’t have any opinion of my own.

"I have also sought advice from many actors, like Carina Lau, for example, who never went through formal training either.  She said, it will be fine, just keep doing it, it will come with experience!  Maybe that’s true, I’ve only made three movies, which is not much of an experience.”

While most actors eagerly dissect every film they can get their hands on, Faye says she is not even a movie buff to begin with.  “I don’t like to watch martial arts movies, war movies, period movies,” she says, without pausing for breath.  “I do watch comedies, but if it is blatantly slapstick, I will definitely not watch it.”

And contrary to how so-called “serious” actors try to get into their roles by trying to get under the skin of the character they’re taking on, Faye prefers not to get in too deep.

“When you are doing a Wong Kar Wai movie, you can never be quite in it, because you won’t even know what the story is all about.  When I was filming CHUNGKING EXPRESS, I really didn’t know what I was doing.  You have to read the script a few times to understand what he’s trying to say.  As I was playing the role, I was feeling that this girl is so irritating and inexplicable.  Haha…"  Self-mockery has always been a virtue of survivors.

LOVE ACCORDING TO FAYE

Now that she has reclaimed her "single” status, perhaps Faye will reveal the kind of man that attracts her?

But this line of questioning doesn’t get much information out of her – Faye would rather speak in generalities, and not about any specific person.  Nicholas Tse’s name is not mentioned throughout the interview.

Sexiness, Faye says, is a matter of personality, a kind of feel.  For her, there are no criteria to speak of.

“I have always been one to follow my intuition.  When it feels right, then it’s right.  The most important thing for a man is to be upright, frank, not to make me do any second-guessing, not to say one thing and do another thing.  Whether he is sexy or not is secondary.  There is not particular look that I go for.  Except that I don’t like guys that talk to much.”

Still, despite her ice queen persona, there’s still a hint that the man who manages to make her thaw will find a hopeless romantic underneath.

“I feel that everything is fated.  When a person is in love, it is like having a magic spell cast on you, you just can’t wriggle out of it, and you can’t be so level-headed as to examine yourself objectively.  Some would calculate various factors while choosing a marriage partner and decide according to one’s requirements.  But I’m definitely not someone like that.”

Translated by Ts’ Ming.

FAYE ON HER LEADING MEN

Tony Leung Chiu Wai - “I have worked with him the most number of times but never really talked to him.  I don’t understand him too well.  He doesn’t talk much, but sometimes he would behave like … he would be very affectionate, it’s rather odd.  I guess he is harder to fathom.”

Leslie Cheung - “He is a buddy.  He is someone who makes clear distinctions between what he loves and what he hates.  He would explain why he likes something and why he doesn’t like something … a headstrong type of person.”

Tony Leung Kar Fai - “He is a very agreeable character, he would share his private matters with others, things like where his family has gone traveling, what they have encountered, how his daughter is doing … I think he would make a perfect husband, very nice, caring, and attentive.”

Takuya Kimura - “Kimura is a very smart person.  But sometimes he’s very playful too.  He’s actually a very professional actor.”

UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL

On hobbies - “Shopping for clothes is no longer my hobby, I only shop for 'working clothes’, so that doesn’t count.  Recently, I haven’t’ had any hobbies.  Apart from work, I just lie around at home, or meet up with some friends.  I have not played mahjong for a long time."  (Right, who has time for mahjong when one is too busy dating?)

On music - "Thinking back on my first record, it was released without much thought, and it was not very me.  I tend to be more carefree while recording in the studio, other than that I behave very awkwardly.  I’m not one who needs to listen to music everyday.”

On pursuits - “I’m not very worried about what to eat, or what to wear, just as long as I have a place to live comfortably.  Actually I’m usually not so concerned about my appearance.  I think the only thing I care for is my records, choosing my songs, recording a good album.  Although there are some works that I’m satisfied with, I still hope to do more.”

On happiness - “A lot of times, that’s just a state of mind.  As long as you know how to let go, you will be much happier.”

On her daughter - “I never planned to have children.  I’m not a patient person but I tend to be nicer to children.  Fortunately, Jing Tong is not naughty at all.  I will not interfere with her future, my responsibility is just to raise her.  Whichever path she takes from then on would be her own, that’s beyond my control.”

MAKING OF A COVER GIRL

Faye Wong has a habit of browsing through magazines while making up.  She would rather stay a while longer than to rush an interview while making up and doing her hair.  Such insistence is rare among entertainers, but how else to share your thoughts with so many people around to interrupt?

So this reporter had to watch her making up, doing her hair, trying her dress and taking the polaroids for a full five hours.  But that helped her to warm up and made it easier to strike up a conversation.

As expected, her daughter Jing Tong turned up at 5:30 pm sharp, insisted on a hug and kiss, and on being Faye’s personal dresser – she followed Mum into the changing room.  Faye looked completely transformed as she emerged, and her daughter started to mimic her, much to everyone’s amusement.

During the interview, the cute little girl interrupted three or four times, but she also knew when to back off after every act, without being told off.

As the interview drew to a close, Jing Tong grew more and more impatient.  She shouted with all her might:  “Mum, Mum, let’s go home!"  It sounded like a little wish that was too long suppressed.

------------------------------------------------------------------

SOURCE: ELLE

[lysieblu]

Like a river....

If you’ve read my previous posts then you know that Boys Over Flowers is a huge trigger for me. I was recently advised that there are other versions of this and I stumbled upon Meteor Garden (MG)(2018) which is the Chinese/Taiwanese take on the Boys Over Flowers (BOF) story and I am so beyond thrilled I can't contain myself. I am aware that this is the remake of an 2001 original and as soon as I can get my hands on that version I will watch and report. I am also in pursuit of the Japanese version. My review will be in comparison to the Korean version so buckle up buttercup I have SPOILERS.

Overall the series eliminated most of the elements that made BOF cringy like the excessive bullying. This is definitely a more PC version. F4 is described as a smart respectable group of boys that respects women. This attempt is part of the reason you can almost overlook the "overtly nice damsel in distress" archetype. She ends up with the asshole, but I ain't mad

Dao Ming Si: I have never in my foreign drama watching life rooted for the guy before the girl. I love what they did with this character. He has so much more depth than Goon Joon Pyo of BOF. He wasn't just an arrogant asshole. He got his shit together and changed… immediately. He made mistakes…. And FUCKING learned from them!!!! AND ADJUSTED ACCORDINGLY!!! There are grown as people in this world well into their 60s or older who still haven't figured out life like this yet. I applaud this so much. Very rarely do you see a man who has his emotional shit together. Who uses a women as inspiration to be a better person versus relying on her to raise him like she's his god damned mother. He knew that he loved her and showed it everyway he knew how. He didn't play games.

But don't get it twisted. His over all aggression and possessiveness towards Shancai is unhealthy. Wanting her no matter what the costs even if it's not for her benefit, is unhealthy thinking. It's easy to overlook these things because he seems to grow out of it. But when it comes down to real, sustainable relationships, Lei is and will always be the better, healthier choice

is hair.. Sonic the Hedgehog. I CANNOT be the only one who thought this.

Dong Shancai was disappointing to me. I didn't like the character in BOF and she especially frustrated me in MG. There was no reason for her to be so out of touch with her feelings. She was difficult just because; no past trauma or broken heart to explain it. To me, she never returned his feelings with the same intensity Si gave his. Even in the end when they got married. She hesitated towards Si even after he became a better person. It seems as if maintaining her "innocence" was more important than making her a character capable of giving and receiving all types of love. I understand that there are people who are like this in real life, but there is something about this character that doesn't seem genuine. Is it the acting? I couldn't feel the love or connect.. And I feel everything.

Her tendency to put other people before her was admirable but unreasonable. They are not children and she was treating them as such. Her interference with Xiaoyou and Ximen's business angered me. I also feel like a lot of the hardships Shancai went through was her doing. Si said he would never leave her, so why would she take on Feng by herself? It was HIS mother. He is the literal reason why this is all happening. To shut him out was stupid. This whole drama would have been solved long ago if they would have stood their ground earlier. But Shancai chose to be arduous.

I hated every kiss. It seemed forced every time.

Also, why does she pull all these fine ass men?? There is nothing interesting about her. Or at least, what was interesting fizzled in the end.

I loved how each character gained a little more depth but I am on the fence about Mei Zuo's side story. I want every character to find love.. But he doesn't so… do I care? Mei Zuo is my least favorite member of F4 and I think those scenes are what destroyed him.

Huaze Lei: Sweet baby boy. I loved him so much in this version. I just wish he would have found love. I am glad that he protected Shancai without becoming her pet. Hell, he even called her, his pet.

Lei is the realest, most grounded character in this drama. (And low-key savage.) His relationship with the others is the most genuine. He had the best lines and learned the most throughout the drama. He is literally me in male k-drama form: unbothered but totally involved. Although, I would have never let Si just hit me. I'm not a fighter but I will fight, win or lose, I don't care. You are going to understand that I am not the one.

Lei and Si's friendship is everything.

Dao Ming Feng: Mega bitch.. Light. She didn't destroy Shancai's family but was still insufferable. Turns out she was miserable and instead of accepting help, from her own family, she had to crash and burn. Her story line made me think that maybe she was a business women, not because she wanted to be, but because she had to be. She got a fresh start and I respect that.

There is nothing wrong with the way Ximen dates, Shancai!!! He was always upfront with his women. I am glad that in this version, Ximen and Xiaoyou end up together.

(Dear Cesar Wu, Why are you so fucking gorgeous??? You maintained model status the whole 49 episodes. You're killing me son!!!! Sincerely, TheThirstIsReal.com)

Dao Ming Zhuang: The best female character in this drama and everything I hope to be as a big sister to three boys.

Thomas.. Why do I love him??? He aint shit but I love him. Says something about me, right??

Random observations:

Let's talk about shameless product placement because OMG every episode had a commercial moment and while it is marketing genius, it felt dirty. I can't avoid it. It's just there and I don't know when it's coming.

The seasons never changed. It was always Chinese New Year.

Either Si had the hottest breath or there was no heat in any of the buildings they filmed in. WTF?

Production got cleared for 5 songs and played the hell out of those songs. There were moments when it made sense, moments when I wished a certain song would play and it didn't, and moments when I just wanted to flip my TV over if I heard said song again.

That being said… *Adds Bishop Briggs' "River" to playlist* Seriously, this song will be the soundtrack of my life. Whenever shit goes down, "like a river…"

I want all of F4 clothes and shoes. And that one sweater Shauncai had on with the quadratic equation on it.

There were a lot of flashbacks, mostly unnecessary.

Is it bridge or is it poker???

Compared to every other show I have every watched with the "rich douche bag boy and fierce but it eventually fades, poor girl" archetype, this is the most acceptable version. I should write an American version that is psychologically sound and satirical of these versions.. And then she ends up with Lei. That is literally two episodes of material. Ahh.. It could be a movie!

[mynameistori]

entry 2 (aug 16)

Hello everyone!

I’ve been meaning to write something but I think writing too often sets me up for failure and I’d like this blog to live for a while. Though I think my cyclic mental state will act as motivation for me to continue to write. Let me update you on what I’ve been doing and thinking about!

Wonderland

Yesterday I went to Wonderland (an amusement park about 40 minutes away from my house) with my nephew Little Bear (literal translation of our nickname for him haha) who’s 11 years younger than me. Fun fact: Little Bear is 11 years younger than me and my next cousin up is 11 years older than me (who we’ll call Melon in case he shows up in a future entry). I had tons of fun, even though we were only there for about 5 hours. I don’t think I’ve ever spoken so much Chinese in my life before! And what’s weird is that I probably could’ve used Shanghainese more (since I’m definitely more fluent in that) but I think I was more comfortable using Chinese with him?? Totally weird. We got there around 5 pm originally because my mom said the tickets were cheaper (they weren’t that much cheaper -- we still spent like 90 bucks for the two of us -- should’ve bought them from Costco) but I also hate being out in the sun (I hate tanning and it just makes me a grumpier person). Luckily the wind was cool and the longest line we were in was for about an hour (for the best ride, so it was reasonable). Only downside was probably going on a ride involving water first (Riptide) and getting moderately soaked such that my foot got a blister from my shoes within the first hour, which caused me to painfully limp for the rest of the night. 

I enjoy going to amusement parks like Wonderland because they force physical reactions out of me. Sound weird, but let me explain. My mental control is so strong (or my soul is so dead -- it’s pretty much the same at this rate) that I don’t experience feelings most of the time. My emotions are heavily guarded! So high thrill rides make me feel fear, adrenaline, excitement, as well as a different kind of control (because restraints make rollercoasters safe and conquerable, it feels like I’m letting myself go on an enjoyable ride from a mystical animal friend).

@_torigram

I know I linked an Instagram account and I’ve been thinking a lot about it (@_torigram in case you missed it at the top of this page). It’s mainly a place where I can post random dance videos because there’s a lot of dances I want to learn but I don’t want to post them on my main account because I’m self-conscious about my dancing and I hate watching myself dance. However, I think that having an account dedicated to this stuff will help me get over my insecurities. To maintain my privacy I’ll be wearing a hat and one of those mouth mask things and I’ll try to keep my outfit as plain as possible (or at least not wear something that someone can notice as mine).

It’s also where I’ll post my “Challenge Videos”! The story behind this is that I wanted to challenge my friend (let’s call him Cover Boy for now, but he’s also involved with the “two nights ago” story I was talking about in my last entry so I might as well just call him Pretty Boy) to do one cover a week. For those who don’t know what covers are, they’re just copying (and sometimes changing up) an original artist’s work and posting it online. So if I were to do a dance cover of someone’s choreography, I’d learn from a video of theirs and post it on my Instagram. The Challenge would go like this: I’d give Pretty Boy a song and he’d have a week to learn as much of the dance and any part of it he’d like and then post the video to Instagram (or at least send a video to me through Messenger). I think this was something I wanted to do myself for a while, and after seeing him do something like this casually on his Instagram (he’s done two) made me want a buddy to do this with. He’s been extremely stressed recently though, so I told him I would hold off for a little longer before presenting him with this. Hopefully he’d be down to do it, but I’m pretty sure I’d continue without him. It’ll mostly be kpop dance covers, so sorry to those who hate kpop! As for vocal covers, they’d be in English because I’m not confident with my Korean pronunciation, haha. 

I’ll post on the Instagram before the summer ends (likely sometime next week, when I head back to Waterloo for my last few part-time shifts for the term), so keep an eye out~ I’ve got a couple of dances ready but I’m not good at learning from videos (I’ve learned from teachers pretty much all my life so dissecting videos frame by frame is so tedious -- props to y’all who do this on a regular basis) so hopefully I can keep a good pace with releasing the videos. We’ll see how everything works out!

Meteor Garden

I recently started watching Meteor Garden 2018! I’ve always been a huge Hana Yori Dango fan -- I think i’ve watched the whole thing at least 3 times and refused to watch the taiwanese and korean versions because to be honest, the japanese cast looks the best and the manga is Japanese. Also, Matsuda Shota was in it and Liar Game (which he’s also in) is one of my all-time favourite dramas. It might be my top actually… I decided to watch the Meteor Garden remake mainly because it was on Netflix and because it takes place in Shanghai. It takes me back sometimes because I always try to guess where this is taking place and how hard it must’ve been to shoot some of the scenes because of how populated Shanghai is, haha.

This drama also helped me feel a lot better because it made me think about something other than my own shitty life and it made me laugh a lot. It also made me think about my ideal guy I suppose. I think I have a better idea as to what kind of guy I’d want to date next or even settle down with. I don’t know if I should type some traits out for you… hahaha. Well, I guess I might as well since this place is pretty private and I shouldn’t be so uptight (?) about this stuff. Sorry for the organization of this next section, it might be a bit wonky. I’m trying to work it out in my head but it’s still pretty messy. Let’s call him IB for Ideal Boy.

LOOKS: I don’t think I’ve ever been picky about looks with my previous boyfriends, but I’d like IB to be more of a pretty boy (not referring to Pretty Boy in any way, haha though he does fit the description) with a lean build. Someone that can turn heads when dressed up. I would like him to be taller than me (I’m pretty tall to begin with at 167 cm), but I’ve dated shorter guys before. I think I haven’t been picky about looks in the past because I don’t consider myself to be beautiful. I don’t think I’m ugly per se, but I think I’m pretty darn average when it comes to looks (though others call me pretty).

INTELLIGENCE: I’ve been involved with (dating/friends with benefits) 6 boys in the past and 4 of them were/ended up as engineers (it would be 5 but he got kicked out of engineering, good riddance because he was a rude dude), so I guess I like smart boys. I don’t think having a university degree says anything about how smart you are. I’d just like someone to exchange opinions with, someone who can hold a conversation and be curious about my life (because I’m unfortunately not that talkative), and someone who’s just as clever, crafty, and witty as me. I’d like IB to be knowledgeable about what he likes/dislikes as well as “street smart” I suppose. I would want him to be able to show me all of his favourite spots and go-tos in whatever city we’re in.

HUMOUR: I think my humour is pretty dark? I don’t know what to say about humour but I’d like IB to have a similar sense of humour to me (or at least get my humour) and to know when to stop joking around because I’m generally quite serious and hate it when people don’t take me seriously (thanks mom and dad).

ROMANCE: I like pet names (call me sweetheart, babe, and princess, IB) and stealing his clothes (why are boy’s clothes so darn comfortable???). I also like eating nice food and sharing everything we eat so we can try more dishes. I like holding hands in public, forehead and neck kisses, and back hugs. I like cuddling, making out in bed for hours, and getting touched all over (okay except for my left ribs - scoliosis problems - and my knees - they’re sensitive but in a bad way). I like receiving and giving hickies because I’m kind of possessive? And I’d like IB to be slightly possessive as well. Let’s not move to more intimate topics, sorry internet maybe some other time :)

TRUST:  I’d want him to be able to listen to me without judgment and to always be truthful with me. I don’t want him to hide anything from me (especially when it’s people talking shit behind my back) and to trust me to deal with problematic situations well enough (this is the main reason why me and my most recent boyfriend -- let’s call him Balloon Boy -- broke up, aside from being long distance and being too similar in our introverted-like traits).

PERSONALITY: Loud but quiet. I’d like IB to be more outgoing than me because I’m quiet and shy in general (especially around strangers) and am socially anxious, so I’d want him to hold my hand and lead me out of my comfort zone I think IB should be passionate about something in his life, whether it be a hobby or career-related. Extra points if he sings or dances, because then we’d have something in common. I don’t want IB to be nonchalant (more nonchalant than me is a nono) because it gets tiring being the one in charge all the time. Some spontaneity is good, and taking risks is nice too because I’m a rebel at heart though it seems like I’m super uptight all the time.

AGE: to be honest, I don’t really care much about age. So far, I’ve gone 3 years older and 2 years younger. I like mature boys though because I’d want to have serious deep talks and be able to ask them for their opinions on life and whatnot.

I don’t know how to continue on from that rough list, so I guess that’s all from me for now. I think the next ones will be about Pretty Boy and Balloon Boy, so get ready for some angst? Until then, be merry :)

Tori

[davidjjohnston3]

Facebook Insomnia 7.25.2021 1. I am still sad to conceptualize life in terms of fiction and the condition of fiction rather than Christianity undivided.   Today I had a lot of images of Japan in my mind.  I heard the phrase 'Japanese Breakfast' which is the rock-star name of the author of 'Crying at H-Mart' a famous book. I remembered someone who once dated someone who became my enemy. This person I respected I now realize and I am happy that I didn't say anything excessively stupid that would have implied I look down on her, saw her as easy, saw her as 'material to work on,' someone to have a plan for etc.   I asked her once for help getting someone to interview at Deloitte for consulting only this person was in Accounting. I never really saw this person as in my league or anything to me except as a 'Curriculum Developer' I guess I outranked her and so wasn't shy of talking to / with her in official functions.   Later we drank together and I said a few random things like that I stress- / binge-eat apples, like 5 apples a night. My friend once did a funny imitation of her that in retrospect sounded a little like my Taiwanese ex-girlfriend's imitation of Kaori Mochida from Every Little Thing; the funny thing I now realize is that he too had lingering affection for her despite everything.  I feel he became anti-Korean racist and I don't know where he is now but in retrospect he definitely never crossed a line with her that I know of except for asking questions I would never ask.  He called her by her Asian name which was something I never did in those days feeling it pretentious.   'The mysterious maiden of the Moon...' - It's a line from Yi Kwangsu's 'The Soil' in which a married man is comparing his wife with someone else like his former student.  In good Korean custom since his former student once had a puppy-crush on him and gave him some corn, when her husband finds out, he kicks her to death in her pregnant stomach and this is why I oppose many things in principle such as tribalism, marriage, and for all intent and purposes the nuclear family. Yi Kwangsu is a problematic figure and as a Christian or aspiring Christian / 'Christianist' I don't recommend it.  It has incredibly exquisite descriptions of women that could make you brain-dead.  Yi Kwangsu also supposed Japan's occupation of Korea so that to this day talking about Yi Kwangsu can get you crucified.   I also seem to recall something like '_ _-ya, you got run over by a train you one-legged prostitute; now you have to love your husband even more.'  But I don't remember the context. Ironically or not 'The Soil' is the title of a Knut Hamsun novel the author of which supported Hitler; I do not.   I wonder where she is now. This person got shot at a lot and I regret adding to her burdens with my sin-eater-type confessions or just shooting my mouth off when stuff happened.  I had a crush on someone else and started saying I was sad I lost my virginity in college; IDK why I said anything. This person also had high alcohol-tolerance - extremely high for a female Asian - and although I could also drink a lot I always did bad self-destructive things. In the Middle Ages one form of 'trial by ordeal' was to reach your hand in to boiling water to pull out a pearl and if the boiled skin healed well you were exonerated or sth.   She must be 'somebody's everything; my impossible girl.'  IDK why she talked to me and I made fun of her and all my fictionalized versions of her and theories of her were derogations.   Like me she played the piano. She once said '_ _ is popular' which was a burn I appreciate since I'm anti-popularity and anti-personality-cults. She went to a school part of which is Victoria College where a literary critic I admire(d) taught for many years. I am stuck in America, hounded by Satan through the personages of my Maoist biological family and 'family tree' of America torn between past and future, un-death and life; due in large part to my excessive tendency to defend myself, to lash out, to wash my hands on the outside without cleaning my 'interior mentality' to paraphrase the 'Da Xue,' or to blaspheme the Spirit in some respects, I feel. I regret talking about her and at the same time why would I talk about lesser maidens? IDK what her favorite piano-piece was as I never endeavored to enage her in discourse about art or aesthetics given she is not a 'kisaeng' or 'geisha' and I am not a museum-curator or whatever.  Other people would be like 'Oh!  You lke the Grande Valse Brilliante; I know you spent the summer of 2003 teaching yourself repeat-notes.'   Everyone wants to drag everyone in to their mud or graves these days.  Am reminded of Endo Shusaku's 'Silence' about why Jesuits would apostasize in medieval Japan.  His conclusion was that the 'swamp of Japan' was too full of sensualism, the Portuguese Jesuit wanted a Japanese mistress or wife.  I once yelled 'swamp f-ggot' at someone due to their tendency to emotionalize and 'contextualize' everything which was an underhanded way of trying to make me change my sex as well.  In an effort to mitigate some of the tempting evil pornographic things I said about KR over the years I said a few more but this is a person, whose name means 'Pearl' as in 'the pearl of great price for which oe sold everything else.'  It is said that AAPI Twitter, America, house-slave Am-Kor own-goal Korean self-exploitation honor-killing squadsters, etc. want to these people in the trash. I found my Gideon Kor-Eng NT Psalms with the 'victory song' that sounds like Mandarin in its Revelation, that I had worried I'd lost.  That might be the 'most grateful' thing that 'happened.' I also remembered what my Mandarin name used to be though I had many in different classes I took. I was going to say many things, but in the end: the mystery of Charity.

*

I never considered the full implications of socialism or mental socialism till today.  I assumed that it was valid mitigation.  Some are born rich, some are born poor, it's wrong to let the latter starve on principle alone.   I don't even know how to say this.  I remember during the Iraq War being struck by how much the government - like my mom - was asking outsiders for advice about how to fight.  Dick Cheney got in trouble.  Years later I was skeptical of the F-35 because a lot of idiots with no skin in the game wanted to build it here or there. Wisconsin wanted to build the 'Littoral Combat Ship' which who cares. It made people worse and worse. The only thing is, the CCP - who ultimately serve I dare not even say whom, but clearly not the ghosts of Karl Marx or Vladimir Lenin or perhaps even Mao Zedong - figured out awesome killer ways to troll Republicans like Scott Walker w/ their 'FoxConn Fallujah hokey-pokey' whereby they got an avowed capitalist to promise socialists something that actually came from-post-hyper-anti-socialist hyper-capitalists with a plan to kill all white people or something. My father used to talk about the University of Chicago School of Economics all the time and it made me sulkily ask myself why 'Poor Dad' is talking so much about stuff that supposedly makes people billionaires while Jacob's English major dad is Bloomberg's 'chief of staff.'   I say again it's just like Biden saying all the right stuff, 'knee on the neck of the American soul, bone of our bone, winter of peril, hey dumbfuck, articulate, they're killing people.' Writing grant-proposals to the government to fund private research in to brain-injury that is itself applied by the government to veterans sent to get brain-damaged by a government that said good things and did retarded things based on their readings of the good things they said a bit like Karenin in 'Anna Karenina.'   I remember when George W. Bush said 'I'm the decider.'  I once told my dad to get out of my face so he got really sloshed up and vapored, 'I'm in your face!'  I'm not even saying that to defame someone but welcome to reality. Every so often every male seems to try to man up then they defend themselves like, 'No that is not the way in which I meant that I was manning up.'  You could call this 'self-draft-dodging.' It's ancient history but if I had been wiser I would have tried to predict the future for myself rather than visualize it as an abstract spectatorial notion.  At day's end mental socialists can literally not understand why it is wrong to steal.  Stealing is compulsory under socialism - I again come back to 'Pearl' since her ex-suitor and I used to reflect on how Korean collectivism drove people into themselves.  Similarly mental socialists cannot but hoard 'capabilities' so that in the end they'll falsify anything, steal anything; the only limit I guess is living with themselves.

I keep giving myself to fantasy and coping of all kinds like a 'mental Changrae Lee novel, mental David Guterson novel,' or ultimately Vergil (Virgil).  There has to be a new music, a new dream, something, a new city, though it is odd to think about pre-Christian times and a legend of what came before Rome in a Christian moment amid realignment in 'late Roman history.' My favorite YAL book still perhaps is 'The Giver' since it deals with the uses of history, with abortion, and with escape or exile.   I was going to say a while back something about 'Light in August' which relates to escape - as well to complacence - and to interracial relationships, pregnancy, the right to live.  I was in Minneapolis but mind was on Japan, on all these swords, not the Olympics but histories of swords and strange armor, halberds.  There was a huge sword called a 'field sword' in translation. I don't even want to see these people again; I sincerely pray the Japanese Prime Minister, the men and women of their armed forces, Tokyo's apparently amazing counter-terrorism and response capabilities for NBC / WMD / etc. attacks since the Aum Shinrikyo Sarin subway attacks and maybe their counter-nuclear or ability to respond after a nuclear blast will be enough.  People in America are trying to live by a little of the old, a little of the new, but it seems utterly impossible. When people abuse me I get really dreamy.  I read Virgil in high school; I was thinking of 'post-Covid YAL' or so in which people are just on the run, harrowing themselves, not even nostalgic for Babylon or anything in it.  It is almost like 'the meaning of the soul.'  I realized that in addition to new churches and new government laws Covid will engender new birth-defects and there will have to be new medicine.  Japan is a country that I said bad things about especially when in Korea but she never did anything bad to me - I remember playing 'Final Fantasy' and thinking someone out there loves me; they made an investment in children worldwide.  The only thing is I'm too old for such adventures and I fall apart quickly. All these birds in Japan, colors of red - people get obsessed with the Otherness of Japan and want to abnegate Belial-like (a demon or fallen angel of sensualism, to my understanding).  

I took so many notes and voice-notes yesterday that I devoutly hope my visions will pass to someone.  The future is going to be so beautiful for somebody but I have lost so much faith in my ability to mitigate or restrain evil.  Those who I had thought were simply stupid but were diabolically opposed to my existence - whom I did not wish to understand and whom I had 'fancied' I could placate or appease through offerings - turned out to be radically evil, unconditionally evil.  I feel that my father (biological) would steal my soul if he could; would eat it in a way.  My mom is always sitting on the porch and gives a look of hope like I could change her mind but it'll never happen.  I want to kill myself; I think things worldwide will get worse before they get better; I don't trust Biden or anyone who says the right things without showing exactly what they are doing.  Christians seem so petty sometimes like melanin, hairy legs, in Japan this therefore that, Native American Indian manhood rituals.   I just want to know which pastor has the 'batting average' I can believe in but it has to be John MacArthur doesn't it?  

[jaceythejester]

Tagged: Ask meme (50) - (96)

Tagged by @cookiespanda ����😂😂

(50) Do You Fear Thunder / Lightning?  I had a dream when I was outside and there was this big thunder and lighting, I ran like a shirtless Michael B Jordan was waiting inside the nearest building.

(51) Do You Like To Read / Write? I love both.  If I am somewhere that it’s not convenient for me to read, I’ll just listen to an audiobook or a podcast.

(52) Do You Like Your Music Loud? It depends on my mood. Sometimes I play the music loud in the shower. When I write, there are times when I’m so focused that I can’t hear the music.

(53) Would You Rather Carve Pumpkins Or Wrap Presents? Carve pumpkins. I’ve never done it before.

(54) Put Your Music On Shuffle, What Is The First Song That Came Up?Rihanna - Diamonds

(55) What Season Are You In Right Now? (Weather) Summer. It’s endless because we only have 2 and a half seasons here.

(56) What Are You Craving Right Now? A&W’s waffle to go.

(57) Post A Screenshot Of Your Tumblr Feed. Can’t. Something gay and nsfw is sure gonna come up 😂

(58) What Is Your Gender? Female. For some reason, people always think I’m a dude on the internet and on MMORPG ..

(59) Coffee Or Tea? Coffee.

(60) Do You Have Any Homework Right Now? If So, What Is It About? No homework because I’m not a student. Just working on Becca’s tattoo theory  video, The Junior Theory video, and Enneagram for TF and TS characters and reading fan fictions submitted from other writers for my Becca x MC x Kaitlyn fan fiction prompt #1.

(61) What Is Your Sexuality? I’m bisexual.

(62) Do You Make Your Bed In The Morning? I choose not to.

(63) Favourite Pokemon? Don’t have one.

(64) Favourite Social Media? Tumblr, of course. The gayest social media in humankind history.

(65) What’s Your Opinion On Instagram Stories? I used to like SnapChat more but now that they added some changes ...

(66) Do You Get Homesick? Never. Home is wherever I am.

(67) Are You A Virgin? Is this a real question? 😂

(68) What Shampoo And Conditioner Are You Using Right Now? Pantene.

(69) If You Were Far From Home And Needed To Sleep For The Night, Would You Choose To Rent A Crappy Motel Room For $60 Or Sleep In Your Car For Free? In my car. There was this one time in 2013 when I was still a student in Japan and I flew from Tokyo to another city and I didn’t have much money and I didn’t book any hotel room because I thought I’d sleep in my sitting position on a seat at the airport because my family would arrive the next morning anyway. I didn’t know that the airport wouldn’t be opened for 24 hours. (Fuck) Like others who had the same plan as me, we were all told by the security to get out of the airport. It was midnight and it was so cold, dark and disturbingly quiet outside. I wouldn’t be surprised if some zombies showed up. I stayed outside for 2 hours and it was freezing. 

And all I could think about was; how the fuck do homeless people survive on the streets? I had little money and nowhere to go and didn’t know what to do. Luckily, a Vietnam guy who originally was gonna sleep inside the airport saw me and told me that there was a 24 hour family restaurant nearby. We went there with a Taiwanese girl who couldn’t speak English and Japanese well (and I can’t speak Chinese). She came from Taiwan to see a concert of her favourite Japanese band. The whole thing was unexpected but I got to experience the kindness of strangers at the same time. The 3 of us ordered something to eat and we ended up talking and hanging out until morning. Then after the airport is opened again, we all went our separate ways. From then on, I kinda want to do something big for the homeless (except giving them CPR because I don’t know how) 

(70) Are Both Of Your Blood Parents Still In Your Life? My dad left when I was a kid.

(71)  Whats The Next Movie You Want To See In Theaters? Wrinkle in time.

(72) Do You Miss Your Ex? Never.

(73) What Is Your Favourite Quote Right Now?    Halsey - “When I sat down to do Hopeless Fountain Kingdom, I noticed that a lot of the mainstream interpretations had been done by men. So I swapped the characters so in my story, I’m Romeo. I wanted to see what would happen if the female in story chose herself.” https://youtu.be/dwTS0gJf3kI from 1:25 on. This gave me an inspiration (not an inspiration to do an interpretation because I’m a woman, but to be bold and add creativity into my original work)     Let me explain. The theme of her latest album, Hopeless Fountain Kingdom was inspired by Romeo and Juliet. In her music videos for this album, Halsey is Romeo. She gender swapped the characters. That alone was bold af.  Now that I understand what it feels like to put my work and my youtube videos out there, I know how “worrying about people’s responses/reactions and being afraid of criticism” from the internet feels like. And so I think what Halsey did was really bold and inspiring.    I’m someone who is not shy and compared to most people around me, I am confident. I can go up to a stranger and ask for their phone number for my friends. I did that when I was a student living in Tokyo and I went to Tokyo alone to study and at that time I didn’t know anybody in Japan and I could barely speak their language. But doing that is so much easier than building confidence to start a youtube channel. At first I was so friggin’ nervous. My palms were all sweaty. My confidence went out of the window and I was so worried and afraid. I think we all know how mean people can be on the internet.     Then last night I watched one of Halsey’s old interviews. She just does her thing so confidently and without hesitation (gender swapping Romeo and Juliet for her album) while being in the limelight at the same time.    It’s like she’s so focused on her work that she has no room at all for fears even though she’s so young. I learned something meaningful and useful and I got really inspired. I admire her because she has wisdom to share. Wisdom that can be used in the real world. And she inspires me to focus on my work, not my fears.

(74) What Eye Colour Do You Find Sexiest? Purple. Like Danaerys Targaryen’s.

(75) Did You Like Swinging As A Child? Do You Still Get Excited When You See A Swing Set? I liked it. Now I still do and because there’s no swing set near where I live, I have an excuse to be excited.

(76) What Was The Last Thing You Ate? A&w waffle to go 😂 that I craved.

(77) What Games Do You Have On Your Phone? Life is strange, Choices, FFXV, Lineage II.

(78) Would You Give A Homeless Person CPR If They Were Dying? Why Or Why Not? I don’t know how to give CPR so I wouldn’t because I might make that person end up dying faster.

(79) Been On The Computer For 5 Hours Straight? When I was younger, I used to not sleep and not eat because I was addicted to MMORPG. (Final Fantasy XIV A Realm Reborn, TERA, Rohan and Ragnarok. I would have done the same with NieR Automata on PS4 if I were younger)

(80) Stalked Someone On A Social Network? No. Not anymore after that cute af instagram model got herself a girlfriend. Wait. What?!? 😂😂😂

(81) Do You Like Meeting New People? Yes. Meeting new people and keeping in touch are two different things so ..

(82) Do You Wear Rings? If You Do, Take A Picture Of Them. Sometimes I wear 15 rings on my both hands. 

(83) Do You Sleep With Your Bedroom Door Open Or Closed? Closed. Locked. Secured. 

(84) What Are Three Things You Did Today? chatting with my bff in Tokyo, getting inspired by Halsey, about to introduce something to TF/TS fandom.

(85) What Do You Wear To Bed? A plain shirt and a pair of plain sweats.

(86) List All Of Your Different Beauty Products You Have Right Now. I’m not good at makeup but my fave red lipstick is Bang by Urban Decay.

(87) Are You A Day Or Night Person? Night person. Night time is when I can connect with my muses the most.

(88) List All Of Your Video Games On Your Phone, Console Etc. That’d take the whole day so I’ll tell you some of my faves. NieR Automata, Persona 5, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Final Fantasy XIV A Realm Reborn, Dragon Age Inquisition, Life is Strange (what I’m gonna play next)

(89) Tell Me About A Dream That You Had And When It Happened. Too nsfw to talk about hahaha

(90) Favourite Soda Drink? Melon fanta in Japan.

(91) What Sounds Are Your Favourite? Piano.

(92) Do You Wear Jeans Or Sweats More? I wear both equally. Jeans when I go out, sweats when I’m working on my youtube videos.

(93) How Do You Look Right Now? Clean and presentable. Younger than my age, hopefully.

(94) Name Something That Relaxes You. Taking a warm bath while listening to my favourite music. I think everyone should play the music loud when they take a bath to prevent them from falling asleep and drowning. I was told that it is one of the top reasons for deaths in Japan.

(95) What Tattoo Do You Want? Halsey’s lyrics. I’ve always wanted a tattoo since I was 15 but I never knew what tattoo I really wanted until a few nights ago. 

(96) Favourite YouTuber? Stevie Boebi, a youtuber and a lesbian. I look up to her. When she was a kid, she got abandoned by her real mother then she was raped. It took time for her to open up about her pain and her vulnerability and now she is sharing her story with everyone on her youtube channel. She’s super strong and super inspirational.

[sutekiyomitsu]

[INTERVIEW TRANSLATION] Taiwan Yahoo! News Sato Ryuji Interview

[TRANSLATION] Japanese 2.5D Actor Sato Ryuji’s First Experience Holding A Fan Meeting on Sunday

Please do not repost any of my translations.

Sato Ryuji will be coming to Taiwan this Sunday to hold a fan meeting in Taipei.

Sato Ryuji, who has been creating his own legacy in the domain of Japanese 2.5D stage and musicals, will be coming to Taiwan Sanchuang CLAPPER STUDIO to hold his own personal meeting this Sunday (3 September). Though he has not even held this sort of event in Japan, he is devoting his first fan meeting experience [to Taiwan]. Before coming to visit Taiwan, he received Yahoo! News for an interview, talking about this feelings these couple of years and his expectations for coming to Taiwan.

1: Even though you have been to many Asian countries, this is your first time coming to Taiwan, and you’re even holding your own meeting, how do you feel about this?

Sato: I am really looking forward to being able to have my first fan meeting in Taiwan, I hope that everyone will be able to pass the time happily.

2. In all the roles that you have played up till now, do you feel that there is a role that is similar to you?

Sato: Probably Teiichi no Kuni stage play’s Kuga Shinji. But sometimes I am like Sasuke, very quiet and not saying much.

3. After joining your theatre troupe, your debut in 2011, until now, what aspect do you think you have grown the most in? Are there any aspects that you would like to improve now?

Sato: [I’ve improved] my acting method. Recently, I’ve been told that I’ve become more mature overall. In the future, I hope to be able to continue to try even more and different challenges.

4. Right now in Taiwan, many people don't really know about 2.5D stage plays or musicals. What do you think about this [genre of stage plays and musicals] and the way they are presented? Could you introduce them to a Taiwanese audience?

Sato: I want to make 2.5D stage plays even more entertaining performances than normal stage plays. 2.5D stage plays can make people who only know about anime and manga and people who watch stage plays both happy.

5. When you were acting in Musical Touken Ranbu, besides having to act and sing, you had to dance, do blocking [1], and perform fight scenes, were there any times that you felt that it was hard? Or were there any times you felt very happy?

Sato: During rehearsals, there were many times that I was competing with myself, but I almost never felt that it was very hard or exhausting. Because with whatever work I do, it makes me happy.

6. There are a lot of parts where you have to memorise a lot, do you feel that you are someone who is good at remembering things? Do you have any methods that help you to remember things?

Sato: I have a lot of confidence about being able to remember things. As for methods to remember things, it may sound contradictory, but to get used to remembering things, there is no other way but to continue to repeat it from memory.

7. At this first Taiwan fan meeting, there will be a special screening of the movie in which you had your first leading role in a movie, Please Please Please. What do you hope audiences will see in this movie, or get [from this movie]?

Sato: This isn’t a happy film, so [the audience’s] thoughts after watching the movie are different for everyone. As long as, the audience feels something after watching it, I think I will have succeeded.

8. Before this, the movie Please Please Please was showcased at the Beijing Film Festival, and you and the director went to Beijing together. Was there anything that happened that left an impression on you? What were your thoughts?

Sato: When I went to Beijing, there were a lot of fans who showed up to support me, I was very thankful. Now, I am also looking forward to be able to meet many Taiwanese fans.

9. Live Spectacle Naruto ~Song of the Akatsuki~ had a live viewing broadcast in Taiwan this time, and the response was enthusiastic. In this play, there were many more songs and completely new challenges, what aspects did you find not easy to do?

Sato: I think it would be the singing. Because the other cast members all sing very well, so in order to keep up with them, I really had to do my utmost best.

10. I heard that recently you’ve been losing weight and working out, what methods do you use? Is there any special training that you do?

Sato: I’m not sure if it’s because the stages that I have been performing in have been very severe/harsh, I cannot lose weight just merely relying on exercise anymore, so now I am dieting at the same time.

11. Whenever you get into and out of a role, do you have any special methods to do so?

Sato: There isn’t a special method, I just say, “Work is work, so I must do it properly” and go face it.

12. I heard that in the past you were the lead singer in the band or the drummer, in the future do you have plans to do something related to music?

Sato: I also hope that afterwards I will be able to have a chance to do something related to music. If I could balance performing on stage and doing music, I feel like it would be very cool!

13. Do you have any thoughts about and goals for the future?

Sato: I want to be able to see different countries, because if I die without experiencing that, it would really be a pity.

Sato Ryuji has previously acted as Zaizen Hikaru in Musical Prince of Tennis, Kashuu Kiyomitsu in Musical Touken Ranbu, Uchiha Sasuke in Live Spectacle Naruto, Kuga Shinji in Teiichi no Kuni, and more, and his movie will also be screening in Taiwan. In October, he will be performing in Musical Touken Ranbu Kashuu Kiyomitsu Tanki Shutsujin 2017, his own solo live.

Sato Ryuji is a Japanese 2.5D actor that has become popular in recent years.

Note:

[1] Blocking is the positioning and movement of the actors to tell the story in visual terms.

More translations of interviews by the Taiwanese media:

HiNet Games Animen GNN News ETNews

More information about the event (translated by @rz-jocelyn) can be found here.

This article was translated from Traditional Chinese. (Source: Taiwan Yahoo! News)

[thekoreanlass]

I’m not really a big fan of C-dramas or Meteor Garden, but who will forget this phenomenal drama that started from a Japanese manga until it became a TV series that probably has the most remakes? Taiwanese, Korean, Indonesian, and now a Chinese remake!

The Meteor Garden fever has surely converted people of all ages into fans, not just of the drama but the fictional popular quartet F4! Who would forget Dao Ming Si, Hua Ze Lei, Mei Zuo, and Xi Men? The original boys brought us wonderful songs that most 90-ish kids would still remember and sing along to, which would definitely lead us back to memories of the Taiwanese version’s immense popularity.

At that time, I remember myself still being a kid, who willingly followed her older sister’s every whim and recorded every single episode on a tape recorder for her. Those were the dark times that I totally got sick of being in front of the television and the drama, but gladly Vic Zhou was there to grace me with his presence. I so loved Hua Ze Lei as a kid. He was my ultimate crush, that was probably why I started crushing on Yoon Jihoo as soon as the Korean remake took over a few years later.

More than that blast from the past feeling though, the hottest topic this 2018 is the comeback the drama is making through the Chinese remake, starring this generation’s most beautiful faces, Shen Yue (Dong Shan Cai), Dylan Wang (Dao Ming Si), Darren Chen (Hua Ze Lei), Connor Leong (Feng Mei Zuo) and Caesar Wu (Xi Men Yan).

Shen Yue feels very familiar to me after her ‘A Love So Beautiful’ drama aired in my country and boosted in popularity. The boys, however, are all new faces to me but I must say the moment I saw them I really felt good to see that they are taking over the F4 role. Maybe because they all just look so handsome and charming that their face value already makes the cut.

Anyway, I’ve been rambling about the randomest things, but that’s just because I feel excited to talk about the 2018 version after just watching it. I’m up to episode 6 of the drama, so I shall share my first impression about what happened from the beginning to that point.

Here goes nothing!

Catchy Start

What caught my attention when I started episode 1 is how it opened the story with Shan Cai asking ‘Have you ever wondered what will happen to you in the future?’ and concluding how her 18 year old self never thought something like that will happen to her while a scene of her throwing a strong flying kick to Dao Ming Si’s face plays in slow motion.

I think that, that flying kick on the face totally brings a huge head start to the drama, causing for curiosity to uproot as they left what happened a mystery and began the generic introduction of characters. Shan Cai being the ordinary girl who will luckily land the role of heroine in one hell of a rollercoaster ride. And there was also–lo and behold–the notorious F4, who seems even more perfectly described in this version (a really much improved background than their earlier versions!) that it is too good to be true. To fictitious, to say.

Nonetheless, the start of the drama really managed to grab my attention, so I’m giving them a perfect score for that.

Same but Different

So, we get the same thing but maybe with a Chinese twist to it? I’m not sure whether it’s because they want it to be different from its past versions, but this one definitely has a very unique taste to it.

They changed a lot of things like:

Shan Cai’s family background – The original Meteor Garden and even Boys Over Flowers portrayed her as someone coming from a poor family that barely made a living. Here, Shan Cai at least came from an average family with a mom that cooks and gets money from delivering takeouts and has a father that works as a bank manager (I think they said that was his job).

In the previous versions too, her parents look really pathetic to me. I mean, the father and mother were both selling off their daughter to Dao Ming Si / Gu Jun Pyo. But at least, the mother in the Chinese version is not that loud and annoying and although she still dotes on Dao Ming Si so much that she can sell Shan Cai out to him, at least, her father is there to become the buffer that stops her antics.

An even more perfect F4 – If that’s even possible! So, I know it’s kind of cliche now that the poor girl falls in love with the rich guy. It’s a common trope among dramas, but of course we don’t get tired of the rich and handsome guys of F4! As in never get tired of them!

And to make it much better–or worse? but that’s up to you–the drama made these four flower boys even more desirable bachelors. You’ll easily know about how different and better they are right from the first episode when a random Junior walks up to Shan Cai, Qing He and Li Zhen and tells them about the popular F4.

Dao Ming Si may be the forever pineapple haired guy (his hairstyle gets even better too!), but he’s now finally equipped with the knowledge of being able to speak three or four languages and a talent for business. The old Dao Ming Si can’t even get a quote right, which was really funny back then. He was handsome and rich, but not so smart. But now he can just be everything, well except for the short temper and his anger management problems plus obsession for Shan Cai.

Hua Ze Lei used to be just quiet and snobbish like a cold prince in the older versions, but this drama made it so that they could explain his introverted behavior as related from the slight autism he had when he was a kid and is supposedly cured by the great Teng Tang Jing. Can you even cure autism? I made my own research and gladly they said a minority portion of those people with autism get cured depending on the severity of their autism and the therapies they go through over the years, but its still debatable. However, giving this drama the benefit of the doubt, this is fiction. I’m not gotta criticize it for not knowing any better. For sure, they know what they are doing.

Mei Zuo and Xi Men – so they’re like the third in command in all the versions if you ask me. I’m pretty sure, in terms of appearance, they are of equal importance. Two obnoxious, overprotective friends with a tendency to womanize. I see women hanging around them everywhere, but that’s their role. It’s the casanovas that are more interesting to watch. However, like I said they are the ‘much improved’ versions: wherein Mei Zuo has an impeccable memory that they can never lose in the card game ‘Bridge’ and Xi Men has a liking for tea, due to his family background.

I’m not sure if this is going to sound nicer and may help them look smarter, but I think this version of F4 is the milder, much civilized guys. I mean, they don’t bully someone so randomly out of the blue and make their lives a living hell. Instead, as it was explained, they are so good at the card game ‘Bridge’ (that they even have a club for that!) that many people want to challenge them and to stop anyone from just randomly challenging them, they set an odd rule that you need to first receive the ‘Joker’ card as an invitation for a Bridge match.

That doesn’t sound like much what would bad boys do, right? It would have been nicer if they stuck to the original, but I guess this isn’t so bad either. At least, if they challenge somebody it would make much more sense. Plus, they look really cool playing that game.

Hello ‘Joker’! – So, bye bye to that red card that Dao Ming Si used to send his victims and say ‘hello’ to the less threatening ‘Joker’ card in your locker. Prepare to lose in the game of Bridge with F4 and eat some slippers as the consequence!

At least, it’s befitting for them to use the card, though, right?

College and Milk Tea – I get it every version of Shan Cai is different that’s why she’s a freshman in the Nutrition course here and she works part time at a milk tea shop called ‘Talented’ with Xiao Yu.

 Fights and Reconciliations – Well, I remember Li Zhen–Shan Cai’s newfound friend–also liking Dao Ming Si in the past and because she’s jealous of Shan Cai she intentionally sets her up so that she looks like she slept with someone she met at a club.

The same friend betrays her in this version, but her reason is sort of different and somehow ‘coincidental’ and Shan Cai ends up forgiving her because she’s just that kind of person and Dao Ming Si can never have a say about it or kick her out of university since he doesn’t own it. But at least, all is well. And to be honest, I like how things ended up well between these two friends in this version, since the problem arose from something trivial and it’s just unreasonable for someone to drop out because they were being bullied for some petty reason, right?

Meteor Garden 2018 gets you hooked by these positive changes and makes the drama a bit lighter than its older versions that are leaning more on its dramatic quotient.

However, on another note, I must admit that Shan Cai didn’t experience as much hardship as the old Shan Cai did. Dao Ming Si bullies her in the most childish sense, plotting childish jokes that you can’t call disturbing. I guess, because he’s been sheltered for long enough and didn’t grow up dating girls left and right, that he is having a hard time expressing himself to her and with his very impatient personality makes him extremely possessive of her.

The lack of emotional turmoil boxes the potential of each of them to do even better in portraying their role, however.

So, in a nutshell, Meteor Garden looks totally brand new with the many additions, but still has more room to improve with the acting. Not saying, they aren’t good, but there got to be something more with that actor or actress. So, I’m looking forward to improvement until it’s 48th episode!

Fast Pacing

Is it just me or this drama is moving too quickly that I’m getting worried what more will they show in the next 44 to 48 episodes?

Not that I am complaining about the quick pacing, it’s just that maybe I am not used to it. The Taiwanese version really had a slow, agonizing pace that I would not really stick to it until the end if I had to do a marathon, while this one was just like leafing through pages in a book while only skimming it very briefly, which I think is good but pretty worrisome. Not unless they have more to show that won’t be dragging and not just a filler, then I guess the pacing should be fine.

Total Flower Boys

I can definitely say that this version totally left me drooling at the boys. All of them are really good looking you can’t say they’re a waste. They do have their different charms that set them apart from each other, but in total all of them are likable eye-candies!

I used to be a solid Hua Ze Lei kind of girl, but after watching Dylan Wang portray Dao Ming Si, I can’t help but fawn over the boy. He just fits the prickly, childish and short-tempered rich boy role that’s not too rough but not kind looking either. At some points, he’s cute and surprisingly I don’t despise him for childishly annoying Shan Cai.

The Strong-willed Wild Flower that often bends

You can say that Shan Cai is that heroine who doesn’t easily back down from a challenge. She’s always been stubborn and antagonizing, especially towards Dao Ming Si. She’s been consistent in this love-hate relationship they have that sometimes it’s hard to believe how they ended up together.

But I must say I sometimes feel anxious about Shen Yue’s version of Shan Cai. She’s a good actress and its nice she can easily tear up when an emotional scene comes up, but why do I feel like this Shan Cai is being more fickle now than before? She’s fickle that I find it annoying she lets Dao Ming Si kiss her without a fight even when she likes Hua Ze Lei. I think she sounds more like a pushover or a very easy person, especially when she lets Hua Ze Lei kiss her after just seeing him kiss another girl without any second thoughts and while bringing her along with him at the beach.

A Real Douche

Excuse me for my opinion, but now that I’ve watched this version, I can’t help but think Hua Ze Lei is the real douche here and not Dao Ming Si, who did nothing but devotedly love Dong Shan Cai, I mean, Lei may appear like a cool guy because he’s quiet and introverted and he doesn’t look like he can play any tricks at girls, but the thing is he keeps stringing Shan Cai along–even kissing her cheek without any proper reason and even if he didn’t like her back then when he did it–even if he likes Jing. He even follows her to Paris and lives with her, but just because she doesn’t make time for him and he’s not man enough to be able to save their relationship, that he leaves and shakes up Dao Ming Si and Shan Cai’s blossoming love-hate relationship.

Well, I’m not saying he’s bad, but still for sure no one wants to be the second option when it comes to the person you like. No matter what, a girl needs to have some self-respect and can’t treat herself unjustly by having false hopes that one day this stupid guy will look at you. And Lei shouldn’t be that guy that gives her false hopes just because he knew she likes her and then only goes back to her after realizing Jing doesn’t need him. That’s just plain stupid. Like seriously. I’d rather pick the person who genuinely likes me more and not the person who will only give me the second place. You won’t be truly happy with someone who only puts you second in his life.

Romance

It’s still so complicated like before that it’s unbelievable. I can’t say that there will be such romance in reality, but nonetheless, I totally feel like the chemistry between Dylan Wang and Shen Yue is like second nature to them that you may find them rather unarguably cute together and suited for each other. Together, they make my heart really flutter like a teenager and grin like an idiot nonstop.

Over all

Surprisingly, I think I am being won over by this drama to another level after watching its first few episodes. Of course, I  had  my own doubts upon hearing another remake is on its way, but with some leap of faith that it wouldn’t just be some cheap drama remake, I think that it’s worth the wait and the time I invested on watching it.

I can’t say that it surpassed the other versions, because they all have their different charms. But I can probably say that Meteor Garden 2018 managed to surpass itself.  With its impeccable cast and the awesome production and directing, it surpassed expectations of most Meteor Garden fans.

Plus, add the fact that its very lighthearted in its element compared to the past versions and really much cuter that it must attract, too, the younger audience.

I will not dwell with the fact, though, that it’s pretty long for 40+ episodes times 40 minutes worth of TV viewing per episode and will just enjoy the flow of things while it can entertain me so I wouldn’t overthink about its length being a disadvantage at this time. Maybe they can use it to their advantage too, but who knows? Only time will tell.

Nonetheless, I will recommend this to anybody who just simply loves Meteor Garden at any day. You should try it if you’re up for another Meteor Garden fever and be charmed by the eternal F4!

I will rate this drama 4.7 out of 5 for surprising me and getting me hooked!

See you later for my On going and Final review for this drama in the future!

  First Impression: Meteor Garden (2018) I'm not really a big fan of C-dramas or Meteor Garden, but who will forget this phenomenal drama that started from a Japanese manga until it became a TV series that probably has the most remakes?